Journal of my Photography Adventure

A Whole New World

It is cold outside, but if you know the opportunities out there, you would make that courageous step out of comfort zone. I had two layers of pants, 5 layers of clothing including a winter coat, a stocking cap and my fingerless glove on. Yet I still had to come inside to warm up after couple hours of roaming on the ice.

If the frosting is snow, it will be snow white, but this is crystal and translucent. I don’t know what nature looked in an ice age, I do feel this scene can only be seen in the movies like Lord of Rings or Indiana Jones where the holy grail or a treasured sword is hidden. Low temperature has kept the ice solidly frozen for almost a week now. It is a whole new world.

A bit of color survived the storm and looks brighter than ever with edges coated in ice. Junko is your all-year-around bird. Not afraid of the extreme weather, they are diligently picking what’s available on the ground. An ordinary looking thing has a strong and tough insight.

Tons of thistles growing on my regular walk path. I have made many attempts to photograph them throughout the seasons, but I have not had much luck until today.

The path is extremely icy and slippery. I purposely not to bring my tripod while I really need a tripod to take good close-up shots. Photo opp is endless if you simply look around with a set of scrutiny eyes. I thought if I had to carry a tripod, I would not be able to shoot more. So I decided to have a quick run. If something turns out, then I will go back and do it again. Now temperature will go up tomorrow and I have not even gone through the pictures I took…

I intended to play with some texture, but I ran out of time. I have not been good in editing. A couple simple fix using the ‘sliders’ in LR is usually what I do.

Sometimes I don’t post my most favorite pictures. I posted the pictures with a good fit to the occasion and can better illustrate my mood. The thistles are now looking like crystal jewels. These small twigs from the unnoticeable bush with that creamy and foggy background are the best representation of what’s in front of me right now.

Maple Trees are everywhere in Northwest. On regular days, I would not give them a second look, but when I drove by a house with this limb hanging down, I rushed home to get my camera and walk to the location. I am a passionate fool when comes to photography. Somehow I am feeling obligated to record the nature wonder God has created.On the other hand, some nature beauty will never be discovered if not for the extraordinary weather. It is not safe to stay out in the open when there is the constant danger of trees falling, but if I did not take this risk, I would leave the beauty of this whole new world undisclosed.